The Portland daily press., 1887-05-25
A LION KILLSA HORSE.
He Is Found Lying on: Its Body and
Drinking Its Blood.
Narrow Escape OF the Beasts own
er from a Horrible Death.
Thrilling Description Of the Encount-
or Wlthithe Monster Lion.

NEW YORK, May A.-Frank /. FraYne Is
the manager Of the Frayne theatrical combl-
nation, composed Of men, women and wild
beasts. which go ON the road all winter. In
the summer Frayne takes his menagerie TO a
thirty-acre farm between the towns Of Mad
ison and Chatham, in New Jersey, as a va
cation from the fatigue Of the theatrical sea-
son. The caravan went into its quarters
a fortnight ago, and on Monday Of last week
Frayne was awakened by terrible rumpus
in the barn. He hurried out half-dressed,
and plunged into a contest with his lion.
Old Duke.
Old Duke is a savage brute and Is said TO
be the largest lion in confinement. He had
killed two men, each with a blow Of one
paw, before Frayne bought him in Cuba.
Frayne's first wife, who died several years
ago, as her dying request, besought Frayne
TO get rid Of the brute, as she firmly believed
II he did not her husband would he killed
by it. Old Duke was kept in cage in the
barn. The main entrance to the barn was in
the middle through two big swinging doors.
The lions cage was at the right OF the door.
On the left of the doorway were stalls for
horses. Between the lions cage and the
horse stalls was space wide enough for a
load Of hay to be driven in. Separating the
Sbdllo lTOnl tut open space WAS DOdIu par
tition that reached breast high TO man,
leaving an opening Of four or five feet be-
tween the top of the partition and the hay
NOW above the stalls. Old Dukes cage
stood on the barn floor. This was the thea
tire Of brief but terriblelstruggle that morn
ing.
Frayne had bought a handsome horse Of
Clydesdale stock for 5000 a few days before,
and the horse was tied by a leather halter in
the stall opposite to the lions cage. The
horse had been restless in the stall and had
trembled whenever the lion roared. The
lion. too, had paced up and down in his
cage and peered toward the horse between
the bars Of his cage. When Frayne was
aroused by the rumpus at early dawn he ran
to the barn and listened moment at the
door. The noise had ceased. Then he tore
open the fastenings and saw at glance that
the front of the cage mad been thrown open
at one end and the lion was gone. The next
moment he heard the tearing Of flesh. Look
ing, over the board partition toward the
stalls, he saw Old Duke lying on the pros
trate horse and his teeth buried in its throat.
Frayne's determination was taken In an in
stant He stepped quickly to a post where
he remembered having left lariat, took it
down, colled 1t. and stepped lightly back to
the partition. Old Duke was still feasting.
Throwing back his arm, Frayne said to the
lion sternly:
"Dukep
The animal raised his head and glared, but
nc ulu not move. IL was the cTlLlcdl mo-
ment, and Frayne flung the rope dexterously
around Old Dukes head and pulled 1t taut.
Immediately he carried the end Of the lariat
to the lions cage, passed it through the open
ing through which the lion had escaped, and
around three upright iron bars. He then
pulled on the lariat with the slip moose. shut
ting of his wind, and with the stout cord
urging him toward tho cage Old Duke left
the horse slowly, growingly and roaring as
he went When he would stop Frayne
would command and pull harder, and Old
Duke would suffer himself to be dragged
further. Frayne kept as close to the cage as
possible and as far away as he could from
the opening through which the lion had es-
capped, yet Old Duke could have sprung up
on him at any time while Frayne was work
ing him toward the opening in the cage.
When Old Duke came near to the opening
he stopped and threw up his head. Then he
sprang toward Frayne. Had Frayne been
cowed, he w0uld.have been dead man in an
instant. As the lion jumped at him Frayne
yelled and raised his right arm as II to
strike. The lion that had Just tasted blood,
seized Fraynes arm, and his teeth met in the
flesh. Why Old Duke did not kill him on
the spot Frayne doesn't know. The brute
relaxed his hold, and suffered himself 10 be
pulled through the opening by the larat.
Then Frayne pushed the bars into place
again. AT this moment, Fred Knight, his
superintendent came running up, and the
lariat was cut. Frayne was as white as a
He attributes his escape to the recollection
the lion had OF several previous occasions
when lariat was used to persuade him to
remove himself from one cage to another.
When Old Duke is travelling he rides In a
cage so small that he can hardly turn around
and when he is to be transferred to the large
cage in the barn he is lassoed and pulled
through the opening in the two cages set to-
gether. The old fellow growls every time he
sees lasso in Frayne's hand.
1t was discovered that the cage from which
Old Duke escaped had not been securely fas-
tened at the hinges. The entire front Of
the cage, which Is ten feet long and six feet
high, could be lifted off like door in a
| dwelling. The lion has habit of raising
himself on his hind legs and scatching with
| his fore feet at the top of the cage on the
side near the hinges, so that the wood is al
ways fresh in color and ragged. In raising
himself up one massive shoulder had lifted
off the iron-barred front.
Finding himself free, the lion had only to
| spring upon the wooden partition that sep
| arated him from his long intended victim,
| the horse. The horses head was toward
| him. That the horse had struggled to es-
| cape was plain, as was afterward seen by
| the broken halter. 1t was of larger size than
| halters in use ordinarily, and it was snapped
| off smoothly, as If cut by sudden blow OF a
| knife blade. The horse had no time TO get
| out of the STALL The lion had sprung at his
| neck and throttled him in his tracks. Blood
| had spouted in streams on the partitions on
| either side Of the stall. Old Duke had MOI
done quenching his thirst for blood when hG
was interrupted by his master and dragged
| away.